November 2007
a monthly e-news publication

Special items available!

Community member Jim Marble’s one-of-a-kind Wooden Handicrafts, and longtime Koinonia friend and former community member Nashua Chantal’s Blue Jean Mugs and Blue Jean Candle Holders, are now for sale online and by phone. These items are available in limited quantities, so take a look before they disappear!

Did You Know?

Have you joined the Nut of the Month Club yet? Read all about it and join today. You’ll get regular shipments from the farm, as well as 5% off your holiday order. Whether a pound of delicious Fair Trade coffee, a bag of tasty granola, high-antioxidant pecans, or mouth-watering chocolate, your monthly order will be a source of joy for you and for all of us at Koinonia! (Pictured, our littlest nut, Kellan, “inspects” some of our new crop of pecans.)

Since a tornado ripped through our hometown of Americus in March, our community hospital has been unusable (see photo below). We recently learned that the Siemens company is donating a $1 million MRI to one hospital in America, to be chosen by online voting—and our Sumter Regional Hospital is among the contenders. While an MRI is only one of the resources the hospital dearly needs, and while we wish all the needy hospitals could receive what they need as well, we know what a big difference it would make to our small community. Please make a habit of “voting” for Sumter Regional Hospital at winanmri.com each day through the end of the year.

Reaching Out

On November 15th, Koinonia’s Peace Action Team will be hosting the widely acclaimed “Eyes Wide Open” exhibition on the human cost of the Iraq War. The exhibit will be displayed at Rylander Park in Americus GA, featuring the boots of soldiers killed in Iraq as well as a field of shoes representing the massive loss of Iraqi civilians. The exhibit will be followed by a multimedia program at Koinonia exploring the history, cost and consequences of the war, and a live performance of antiwar songs by indie folk artist Witt Wisebram. More information is available on our website.

The annual School of the Americas Watch vigils at Fort Benning are November 16-18. As usual, we will welcome nearly 100 visitors to use Koinonia as “home base” during the weekend of prayer, protest, nonviolent civil disobedience, and peace activism. All of our beds and most of our floors are reserved for the weekend, but there is still camping space… just be sure to let us know you are coming. Please pray for the activists, as well as for the soldiers and citizens of Latin America, that their hearts and hands may pursue only peace.

Former member of Koinonia and current webmaster Geoffrey Hennies is showing his many talents by doing a stint with Heart to Heart home repair ministry this month. Several new maintenance, repair, and “winterizing” jobs are in the works… we will let you know how things are progressing next time! Thanks again to our friends who donate to this effort.

Bren has been flying quite a few places in recent weeks, traveling to tell the Koinonia story and to share fellowship across the country. In September, she gave the keynote address at Eastside Community Center in Columbus, Indiana, helping to kick off National Neighborhood Weekend. At Chester Village Retirement Community in Chester, Connecticut, she shared Briars in the Cotton Patch, news about Koinonia today, and our hopes and dreams for the future. At the First Congregational Church in Old Lyme, Connecticut, she brought greetings from Koinonia to the two morning worship services and led the Adult Forum. Then, in Florida, she delivered a bright-and-early address to the Kiwanis Club at 7 am, and that same day at 7 pm met with JustFaith alumni at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Finally… November begins with Bren speaking at a conference at Reba Place Church in Evanston, Illinois, Cynicism and Hope. If you’re interested in having Bren speak to your church, class, school, organization, please give us a call or fill out a request on our website.

At the Farm

Our pecan harvest has begun, and it is extremely abundant! Nuts began falling even before we shook the trees. Norris reports, “It looks like someone dumped a load of gravel in between the rows!” We are so grateful to the land and all our helpers—some giving physical skills, others giving financially—that sustained this crop despite a late frost, a drought, and many equipment repairs, in order that we might harvest the earth’s goodness and share it with you all. In the photo, joyful visitors Lee and Nancy Jones sort a few choice nuts.

Meanwhile, our Adopt a Tree program continues. Many thanks to Con Browne as he continues to head up this special effort. The revitalization of the orchards is happening to thanks to many folks’ hard work and financial support. Find out more about the program here. We thank all who have adopted a tree, and all who will do so in the future—thank you!

Recent visitors Heather and Paul Munn arrived unconventionally: on foot! These two travel as did pilgrims of old, but with a modern twist: Paul’s blog of his sojourns, the Pilgrimage Journal, is online at cimarronline.blogspot.com. We were blessed by their presence here. We also were blessed by a visit from Connie and Mark Ross. Connie had not been back to Koinonia since her first visit in 1969. A teenager at the time, she came for several weeks with a Young Life group to help clear the land for the very first Koinonia Partnership Housing home, to be built for Bo and Emma Johnson. Working on this project, later to become Habitat for Humanity, and getting to know Clarence Jordan and other Koinonians made a deep impression in Connie’s life. What a story! We are so glad you came back, Connie!

We’ve also welcomed many students to learn about Koinonia and serve alongside us this month, including groups from the Bonner Scholars of Berry College, Mercer University’s senior Capstone class, and the “Quest for the Ideal” class from Presbyterian College of South Carolina.

Our fall community interns, Pete Munyon, Ana Navarro, and Ana’s two children, Adrian (13) and Ana-Laura (10), are keeping us hopping. The versatile Pete has impressed us with both his welding skills and his adorable bakery bonnet. Ana has impressed us with her reiki and graphic design expertise—and if you call Koinonia, you may be greeted by her kind Venezuelan accent on the phone. We give thanks that Koinonia is blessed by such amazing people!

Coming Soon

The Circle of Friends is having its annual Health Fair on November 8th. Blood pressure checks, flu shots, blood sugar analyses, diabetic footwear representatives, and more will be available for friends of all ages… and of course Kathleen will have healthy snacks to enliven the fellowship. If you would like to attend or bring a senior citizen friend to the Health Fair, please call us at 229-924-0391 for details.

Send extra nickels and dimes to Koinonia through IGive.com! If you shop online, you can—at no extra cost to you—donate a percentage of your dollars spent online to Koinonia. Just go to www.igive.com and enter “Koinonia Partners” in Keyword Search. Then register or login (it’s a free service), make your purchase from over 600 online stores, and know that you are also helping to support the Koinonia community and ministries.

It’s not too early to place your holiday order, and we’ve made it easy for you with multiple ways to order as well as extended phone hours. Call us — a community member is standing by Monday through Friday 8 am to 10 pm, Saturday 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday 1-6 pm Eastern Standard Time, toll-free at 877-738-1741. Write us — you should have received a catalog from us by now; if you haven’t, click here to view it online, print off an order slip, fill it in and mail it to us. Fax us anytime at 229-924-6504. Or order online anytime! Here you see friend Steve Carl and neighbor Travis Hurley in action.

We hope you enjoy Koinonia Briefly and share it with your friends. You receive these monthly updates by request, because you placed an order from Koinonia, or because one of our community members added your name. If you have suggestions for improvements, please let us know at .

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